Wine Reviews for everyone from the enologically astute to the casually inclined

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Lamole di Lamole Vin Santo 1996 Wine Review (NW)

Beautiful amber colorApricot, apple, and honey on the nose and palateGood clean, sweet finish highlighted by crushed nuts and butterscotch

Our evening that was "all things Italian" was marked by an exquisite dessert course. The dessert was panna cotta with chocolate, homemade biscotti, and this little treasure of a wine. I thought it would be appropriate to open this wine when it reached 10 years of age, even though the wine critics said it would mature at 7 years.

The entire group was pleasantly surprised, as the wine has aged gracefully and retained a lot of character. It's like meeting an elderly person who is hobbling around and seems distant and removed, but engages in sharp conversation like a Harvard PhD student defending her dissertation. I was sad to see the bottle empty, but it was the perfect ending to "all things Italian". It was just a 375mL bottle, which seems perfect for a group of four. The price of the bottle, two years ago, was $12. Since then, I've seen late 1990's vintages for sale in stores in both the 375mL and full bottle formats. It's worth checking out. Raise a glass!

1 comment:

Anonymous
said...

my husband and i traveled to italy this past september and tasted vin santo for the first time at a couple of chianti wineries. what amazing taste! we bought one bottle and managed to bring it back with us and i have since been looking for vin santo distributors in the US (so we can buy some more) but to no avail.

in your post you mention seeing vin santo in stores - what stores and where are they located? i'd love to order a few bottles as gifts for friends... and for us!